Making Money in Market Research

Updated on May 29, 2008

One day I received a random call asking me if I would like to participate in a study. Normally I would have hung up thinking it was a bogus call or a telemarketer. But I decided to listen to the person on the other end of the phone. They were telling me that they were doing a study near me and were in need of more participants. They told me that it would be 2 hours and I would be paid $100 for my time. I said that I was interested so she asked me a few demographic questions to see if I qualified for the study. I did!!! That next Saturday for 2 hours I sat and listened to songs in a hotel conference room and left with $100 for my time. This was the first study in a long list of studies that I have been apart of. I have done studies on gum, pizza and beer as well as music, computers and grocery shopping. I have chosen not to do studies because they were too far away, did not pay well or because I had a conflict of some type. I have also chosen to do a study for a certain price and been given a bonus for my time spent.

Depending upon where you live it is possible to make good cash being a Market Research guinea pig. There are many different types of market research companies that are constantly looking for candidates for hundreds of different studies in your area. One of the first places I started was with Fieldwork http://www.fieldwork.com/ they have several offices across the U.S. I currently am on file with three different companies plus I am always glossing through Craigslist looking for other studies. If you live near a major university this is also a great place to look for studies.

Most studies pay about $100 for 2 hours of course there are a few that pay more or less. My most recent study was an in-home study that paid $300 for 2 hours

When searching for companies you should never have to pay to be a member, you will have to give up some personal information but never your social security number.

To find companies who are looking for participants;

Look in your yellow pages under Market Research or Market Analysis

Search online for focus group facilities

Look on craigslist in your local area for "Market Research" usually under the job section

Check out the local University or their hospital for studies that they are currently holding.

Don't get discouraged if you are finding that you do not meet all the criteria a certain study is looking for you will find your niche. There are many studies out there and new ones come up daily most of which are looking for a wide variety of demographics. Be patient and keep looking it will pay off.

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